Cannabis On The Ballot: Issue 4 in Arkansas

What are the details?

Issue 4 will appear on the ballot in Arkansas. You can read the full text of the initiative here.

If approved, Issue 4 will do the following:

• Legalize the possession (up to one ounce) and use of cannabis for persons 21 and older.
• Enact a 10% tax on cannabis sales, with 15% of that revenue funding an annual stipend for law enforcement officers who are in good standing.
• Authorize all existing medical cannabis dispensaries to sell adult-use cannabis at their current locations and allow them to establish one additional location.
• Create 40 additional adult-use cannabis retail licenses, which will be awarded via a lottery system.
• Issue 4 does not address expungement, re-sentencing, or any other forms of record clearing and retroactive relief for people who have been convicted of cannabis offenses.

• Make sure you are registered to vote at your current address.
• If you would like to vote in person on Election Day, you must cast your ballot at your polling place between 7:30 am and 7:30 pm on November 8, 2022.
• If you would like to vote by mail, request a mail-in ballot as soon as possible. You must have an excuse to qualify to vote by mail with an absentee ballot. If you qualify, you must submit an application to vote absentee to your county clerk. The deadline for your application to be received by mail is November 1st and in person is November 4th.
  
• Make a copy of your valid photo ID to return with your ballot. Info here on what qualifies as a valid ID. Make sure to return it in person to your county clerk’s office on or before Friday, November 4th at 5 p.m. Find your county clerk’s office here.
• If you would like to vote early and in person, in-person early voting begins on October 24, 2022 and ends on November 7, 2022.
• No matter how you vote, you MUST have at least one valid form of identification.

To learn more about cannabis laws in Arkansas and find out where elected officials in the state stand on cannabis reform, check out our Arkansas state page.